The present invention relates to a process for producing a frozen sweet potato product and, in particular, for maintaining the flavor and color of the sweet potato.
The production of frozen potato products is common, e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,129 issued to Sloan on Feb. 22, 1972 which proposes to (i) slice the potatoes, (ii) blanche the slices, and (iii) freeze the blanched slices. Blanching may cause some lessening of flavor, especially in the case of sweet potatoes which are relatively flavorful. Blanching would also diminish (lighten) the color of the sweet potato slices.
Therefore, it would be desirable to produce a frozen sweet potato product while optimizing the resulting flavor and color, preferably without the addition of artificial flavoring and/or coloring.